3 Ways You Can Help Your Brain To Be More Productive
Don’t you just hate those days when your brain feels like a clapped-out old car whose engine coughs, wheezes, rattles and bangs but never actually starts. Those days where it feels as though you spend 80% of your time staring at a blank screen waiting, hoping that inspiration will strike some time soon. Those days can test the limits of your salary in any job or career.
Don’t you just hate those days when your brain feels like a clapped-out old car whose engine coughs, wheezes, rattles and bangs but never actually starts.
Those days where it feels as though you spend 80% of your time staring at a blank screen waiting, hoping that inspiration will strike some time soon. Those days can test the limits of your salary in any job or career.
When you’re a freelancer or running your own business from home, however, and you know full well that time is money… it can be excruciating. Fortunately, your mind isn’t failing you. We just need to remove the barriers to productive thinking that can prevent us from being at our best. Some of this comes from within, some of it can be encouraged from the outside.
Let’s take a look…
Take the time to find inner peace
It’s really difficult to bring productivity to a chaotic, distracted or disorganised mind. And in today’s digitally interconnected age, the mind can pick up a lot of clutter throughout the course of the day. Everything from an argument we had with our partner on the way out in the morning to something inflammatory someone said on your Twitter feed can weigh on our minds and impede concentration.
You need to take a step back and find ways to bring peace to your mind and body. Take a few words of encouragement from Ambassador of Peace Prem Rawat. Listen to podcasts and audiobooks that help you to unwind. Practice mindfulness meditation- it’s a great way to quiet the mind, remove mental clutter and slow down the frantic pace of life.
It only takes a few minutes and you can fit it into even the busiest schedule with ease. You can even do it in the car on your commute to work.
Bring order to your workspace
Clutter is the enemy of the focused and productive mind. It’s visually distracting, it prevents ordered thinking, it can exacerbate stress levels and over time it can really take a toll on your mental health. You may kid yourself that you have a highly esoteric “system” for all your piles of paperwork and chaos on your desk. But we both know the truth. Unless you bring order to your desk, you can’t possibly bring order to your mind. And productivity will continue to elude you.
- Invest in a desk tidy
- Keep your smartphone in a drawer
- Cut down on the photos and curios you keep on your desk- by all means give your desk personality, but “enough” can quickly become “too much”.
- Invest in a plant to keep you company. They help you to feel more peaceful, oxygenate your space and make your days more pleasant.
Feed your body, feed your mind
A mind that’s distracted by hunger and thirst will struggle to achieve productivity. Make sure that somewhere in your desk you have access to healthy snacks that will help to keep your blood sugar stable and prevent cravings. You should also be sure to take a moment to visit the water cooler at least once every hour. Not only will it give your mind a rest and ensure that you stay hydrated, it can also counteract the health risks of all that sitting.